Subject: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: Kudzuman Date: 18 Feb 03 - 01:36 PM Not looking for a specific incindent you understand, but does anyone know why someone picked up a pair of metal spoons to play as say opposed to bones or wooden sticks and when did spoon playing become prevavalent? Thanks in advance!! Kudzuman |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: Ed. Date: 18 Feb 03 - 01:58 PM Nothing much on the origin, but you might enjoy this Spoon Playing site |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: alanabit Date: 18 Feb 03 - 03:14 PM It takes a spoon player to remind me of the one good thing I know about Uri Geller... |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: Rustic Rebel Date: 18 Feb 03 - 04:06 PM That's a pretty entertaining site Ed. I don't know the origins either, more than likely from playing bones, but I used to make wooden spoons for playing. I also knotch the handles for a right fit to your fingers. I like the sound of the wooden spoons better than metal, it's not as sharp a sound from wooden. A brief history to Jug bands, has some interesting reading. Peace. Rustic |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: Kudzuman Date: 18 Feb 03 - 05:32 PM Good stuff to check out!! Mucho Thanks!! The Vine that ate the South Kudzuman |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: GUEST,Q Date: 18 Feb 03 - 05:34 PM Who made the first spoons? As likely as anyone. |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: Banjer Date: 18 Feb 03 - 06:31 PM Who made the first spoons? As likely as anyone. Probably someone that got tired of their soup leaking through the fork tines!! **BG** |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: GUEST,Abby the Spoon Lady Date: 05 Apr 11 - 09:59 AM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Iyt4UWHRWg not all spoons are bad. |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: doc.tom Date: 05 Apr 11 - 10:30 AM Reminds me of one Irishman's comment to Bill Delderfield when he was playing spoons in a session in Ireland some years ago: "We don't often hear spoons around here - what we usually say to spoons players is 'would you like some soup'." He did then go on to compliment Bill on his playing and the fact that his playing had gaps in it! |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: GUEST,Abby the Spoon Lady Date: 28 Apr 11 - 05:42 PM SPOONOLOGY – A HISTORY OF SPOON PLAYING In America people usually associate the playing of spoons with the image of an old man on his front porch slapping a pair of spoons between his knee and his hand. Although this mental image is not completely inaccurate, there is much more to spoon playing than that. Another image that folks seem to attribute to spoon players is that of the guy or gal picking up a pair of spoons from behind the bar or from the kitchen cabinet to play along with the band playing at a venue or a house show, and butchering the timing and rhythm. That being said, please note that when given the right amount of respect and practice, spoons can actually become a complex rhythm instrument that compliments the music. Practice makes perfect. There have been spoon players since before written history. Prehistoric rock drawings and pottery as early as the 4th millennium depict dancing figures with curved blades in their hands. Spoons belong to a class of instrument called concussion idiophone. This general class of instruments includes the oldest instruments known to man. Spoons themselves are prehistoric, and you can say that there have been spoon players since around the invention of the spoon. Many ancient cultures played spoons. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all played spoons and a variation of the spoons called the rattle bones or the rhythm bones. Rhythm bones are essentially a pair or set of three bones, usually sheep and cattle bones, placed in the hand parallel to the palm with the convex sides facing each other. The bones are placed between each finger, with one finger being used like a hinge, and the moving one's wrist so that in such a way that the bones hit each other. Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all played spoons and bones in their battle marches and some even speculate that human bones were used. During the crusades, when these armies were marching the clicking or the bones and spoons meant to their enemy that "the pagans were coming" and it was time to prepare for battle, or to even run and hide. Spoons play a part in many different cultures. The Irish, French-Canadian, Turkish, Russian and Vietnamese all played spoons as a part of their traditional music heritage. In America spoons are associated with minstrels, jug bands, and folk music. Notable spoon players are Artis the Spoonman, Sam Spoons, Deb "Spoons" Perry, David Holt, and Tran Quang Hai. Keeping these ancient art forms is important to not only our own culture, but to the world. The playing of spoons is keeping these ancient traditions alive, and forming new ones. Happy clicking. - ABBY THE SPOON LADY |
Subject: Abby the spoon lady From: olddude Date: 16 Mar 19 - 02:32 PM Love it https://youtu.be/_nLmM9kcBKs |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: Joe Offer Date: 17 Mar 19 - 03:32 PM Hi, Olddude. I moved you over here, where Mudcatters can see some of the wisdom Abby has posted here over the years. Click on her name to see more. -Joe- |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: Tradsinger Date: 18 Mar 19 - 06:03 AM Abby, you forgot to mention that spoon playing is very much part of English folk tradition - loads of spoon players over here. Tradsinger |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: The Sandman Date: 18 Mar 19 - 07:44 AM the problem i have with spoon players is that some of them do not listen or play quietly, but sometimes want to be the centre of attention. |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: GUEST,jim bainbridge Date: 18 Mar 19 - 10:40 AM Dick, sometimes it just happens! My wife Francie is an excellent rhythmic if relatively quiet spoons player. A few years ago, playing in a Wigtown pub at the Book Festival one afternoon, it was going fine, as was the booze. I was 'giving it rice' when a young woman who'd had too many Bacardi Breezers came over & shoved my shoulder- saying 'Play quieter you, I cannae hear the spoons for ye'... |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: Vic Smith Date: 18 Mar 19 - 11:28 AM The main achievement of the coming of the Cutlery Percussion Brigade has been to provide material for this magnificent song by Con Fada O'Drisceoil. |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: Vic Smith Date: 18 Mar 19 - 11:35 AM And if his rich Corl brogue makes your understanding of his sublime poetry difficult to understand, here are the lyrics:- In the tavern one night we were sitting |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: meself Date: 18 Mar 19 - 11:54 AM "some of them do not listen or play quietly, but sometimes want to be the centre of attention." Funny, I've run into some fiddlers like that. And some banjo-players. And guitar-players. And accordian players. And piano-players. And, and ........ |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: GUEST,Tootler Date: 18 Mar 19 - 01:40 PM And ... and ... Bohran players :) |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: The Sandman Date: 18 Mar 19 - 02:30 PM meself that is their role they are melody players the melody should be louder than bodhrans spoons or drums, they are supposed to be feckin accompaniment instruments, we do not need them at alkl, unless they help to lift the music most [not all ] do not why dont they piss opff when they try to take over |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: The Sandman Date: 18 Mar 19 - 02:31 PM after all without the melody players they would just be noise , about time they remembered that |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: Mo the caller Date: 19 Mar 19 - 06:28 AM There were spoons workshops at the old Poynton festival (probably in the 80s) and one of the artists in the concert had an uninvited spoon-player in the audience. I think it might have been Vin Garbut (would he have been playing a tune between songs?). The player deliberately speeded up until the spoons player gave up - to the appreciation of the rest of the audience. |
Subject: RE: Folklore: Origin of Spoon playing From: GUEST Date: 19 Mar 19 - 10:17 AM The lovely Pat Smith of Llantrisant still does workshops at festivals all over the place, armned with a kitchen drawer of spoons. Ed Pickford told of a folkie who played not only the spoons, but the comb & paper- if necessary, he could replace all his equipment at Wilko's for a fiver |
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